Railway-switch.



- J. ALONZO.

' RAILWAY S WITCH.

APPHCATION FILED OCT. 31, 1917.

Patented July 30, 1918.

5 SHEETS-SHEET I.

J. ALONZO RAILWAY SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 31. 1911.

Patented July 30, 1918.

5 SHEETSSHEET 3.

J. ALONZO.

RAILWAY SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 31. I91].

PatentedJn1y30, 1918.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

1; ALONZO. RAILWAY swncH. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 3|. l9l7.

1,273,984. Patented July 30, 1918.

5 swans-sun s amigo JOHN ALQNZO, or DEBORGIA, MONTANA.

RAILWAY-SWITCH.

Specification of Letters Patent. n Patented J 1 30 1918 Application filed October 31, 1917; Serial No. 199,533.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN ALoNzo, a subject of the King of Italy, residing at Deborgia, in the county of Mineral and State.- of Montana, have nvented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Switches; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear,rand exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. I

My invention relates to improvements in switches for steam railroads, electric railroads and other kinds, and its primary object is to provide a switch which will not become cloggedby snow, ice, sand, mud or other foreign matter and it will eliminate all gaps which cause many railroad accidents.

In carrying out the above object, the switch tongues are mounted for vertical movement rather than for horizontal swinging movement, and a plurality of cams are provided for raising and lowering said tongues, a further object of the invention being to provide a pair of sills upon which the cams rest, so that all strain is relieved from the rock shafts upon which the cams are mounted. WVhile the invention is primarily intended for steam roads, it may be used in electric roads at street crossings and similar places and where the switch is operated by.

electric power, the vertical movement of switch points Wlll obvlate dangers resulting from suddenly changing the points of the switch, such for example, as a pedestrian having his foot caught between the rail and a moving switch point.

Still another object is to provide simple means whereby the accumulation of ice and the like upon the aforesaid sills is entirely prevented, and whereby themovement of the cams will remove anyice which might possibly form on the portions of said sillsswitch, and to so construct such means ,as to cause the same to hold the aforesaid posts in properly spaced relation, and also top'revent injury to the super-structure of the switch in case derailed wheelsare caused to run by the switch.

Still other objects are to provide anovel type of switch stand for turning one of the rock shafts which carry the cams, and to provide this shaft with shifting weights which assist in moving it to proper position for either opening or closing the switch, after said shaft has been first turned to a predetermined degree by hand, said weights also holding the switch against displace.- ment in case the switch lever gears should unmesh.

Additional objects are'to provide novel means to holdthe switch tongues against longitudinal shifting when their cams are operated, and to providefor holding the track rails in proper gage and preventing the switch tongues from splitting.

With the foregoing general objects in View, the invention resides in the novel features of construction and unique combinations of parts to be hereinafter fully described and claimed, the descriptive matter being supplemented by-the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification and in which:

c Figure 1 is a side elevation tion of the improved switch; j

Fig. l is a perspective view of the switch;

Fig. 2 is substantially a central vertical longitudinal sectiony, V

Fig. moved; V

Fig. 3* is a detail top plan 'of the'right hand portion of Fig. l showing a modified form of switch tongue;

Figs. 4 and 5 are horizontal sections on the planes indicated by the lines 14 and 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Figs. 6, 7 8, 9, 10 and 11 are vertical transverse sections on theplanesindicated'respectively by the lines 66, 7-7, 88, 99, 10 1O and 1111 ofFig. 2;

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of one of the switch tongues;

Fig. 13 is an enlarged side elevation of a portion of one of the sills and one of the cams resting thereon, showing more par ticularly the guards which prevent accumulation of ice and the like upon the sills;

partly in sec- 3 .is'a top plan view with parts re-' 7 Fig. 14: is a transverse section of Fig. 13 on the planes indicated by the line 1a1-i thereof;

Fig. 15 is a detail transverse section on the plane of the line 15l5 of Fig. 3, showing more particularly the switch stand;

Fig. 16 is a top plan view of the stand with the vertical shaft thereof in section; and

Fig. 17 is a vertical section on the plane indicated by the line 1717 of Fig. 16. f

In the drawings above briefly described, the numeral 1 designates the uninterrupted rail of the main track, whereas the numeral 2 designates the two spaced portions of the other main rail, one of said portions having a lateral branch 3 forming one rail of a siding whose other rail is designated by the numeral 4, two of the improved switch tongues 5 being employed for guiding a train from the main track onto the siding, or for permitting it to continue its course along said main track. As will be hereinafter fully described, the tongues 5 have a truly vertical movement rather than swinging laterally in the usual manner, and although these tongues could merely abut the rails 2 and 4: as seen in Fig. 3, overlapped joints 6 are preferably provided in order to prevent pounding of the car wheels, so that the train may run more smoothly from one track onto the other or along the main track. Another feature which will in most cases be employed, but which could well give way to other suitable construction should occasion demand, are fillers 7 secured between the converging portions of the rails of the main track and siding, these fillers serving not only to impart the necessary rigidity to the switch, but to assist in guiding the switch tongues 5.

For supporting the several parts so far described, holding the track rails in proper gage, and preventing the switch tongues from splitting, a plurality of arches are provided, five of sucharches being here shown although any preferred number could be employed. 'Since the construction of the several arches is slightly different, I will refer to them by the letters A, B, C, D and E, and will refer to each in turn.

Arch A includes a pair of vertical posts 8 upon whose upper ends the rails 1 and 2 rest, said posts having abutments 9 bearing against the outer sides of said rails as illustrated for instance in Fig. 6. Each post 8 is also provided in its inner side wit-h a vertically extending recess 10, these recesses re ceiving therein the switch tongues 5, the movement of these tongues being guided by one side of the recesses and by the legs 11 which depend from the crown bar or tie member 12 of the arch, said legs being suitably secured to the posts 8 by bolts or any other fasteners.

Arch B (Fig. 5) includes vertical posts 8 similar to the posts 8, the upper ends of said first named posts supporting thereon the rails 1 and 2 and having abutments 9 which bear against the outer sides of these rails. The tie member 12 of arch B is provided with depending legs 11 suitably secured to the posts 8 said tie member also having vertical lugs 13 corresponding to the lugs 13 of the tie member 12. Whereas lugs 18 contact with the inner sides of the switch tongues 5, the lugs 13 serve to prevent inward shifting of the rails 1 and 2, spacing blocks 14 being interposed between said rails and lugs as shown. In most cases, bolts 15 will pass through the lugs 13, the blocks 14, the rails 1 or 2, and the abutments 9 whereby all parts are rigidly secured together. It will be observed that the posts 8 of the arch B are not provided with any vertical guideways for the switch tongues 5, since these tongues do not extend entirely to said arch as is clear from several of the views.

The arch C is of substantially the same construction as the arch A. The posts 8 of this arch support the rails on their upper ends and are provided with abutments 9 abutting the outer sides of said rails, said abutments having transverse recesses 16 and vertical key ways 17 intersecting the same, the abutments of the arches A and D being also formed with such recesses and keyways as will be clear from Fig. 4. -The several recesses 16 receive rigid loops 18 which extend outwardly from the rails l and 3, vertical keys 19 being passed through said loops and the keyways 17 to prevent inward move ment of these rails.

The posts 8 are formed with recesses 10 coacting with the legs 11 of the tie member [12 in forming additional vertical guideways for the switch tongues 5, all this construction being clearly illustrated in Fig. 10.

The principal difference between the arch D and those abovedescribed, is that the legs 8 thereof are formed with vertical slots 10 which are spaced outwardly from the legs 11 of the tie members 12, the'construction being otherwise substantially the same. The slots 10 receive the switch tongues 5 as indicated in Fig. 8 and cooperate with the other vertical guideways, for insuring that these tongues shall move along predetermined lines. The lugs 13 of the tie member 12 anchor the tapered ends of the rails 4: and 2, whereas the lugs 13' of tie member 12 above described, assist in guiding the switch tongues 5 in the same manner as the lugs 13 of arch A.

The arch E is very similar to arch B, the posts 8 of this arch supporting both the line and siding rails as shown for instance in Fig. 9, said posts being provided with abutments 9 but having no vertical guideways for the tongues 5, since these tongues terminate short of the posts. The tie member 12 of arch E is provided with legs 11 bolted or otherwise secured to the posts 8, and the lugs 13 of said tie members assist in anchoring the adjacent portions of the rails 1, 4, 2 and 3, bolts 20 being passed through these parts as well as through the spacers 7 and spacing blocks 14 which are interposed between said lugs and the adjacent rails (see Figs. 3, 4 and 9).

The lower ends of the posts of the several arches A, B, C, D and E, are provided with suitable feet 21 which are spiked to crossties 22 positioned in the bottom of a suitable pit 23, said feet Preferably having anti-slipping ribs 24 as shown most clearly in the several transverse sections. The pit 23 may be walled up in any preferred manner to prevent the sides and ends from caving in, and the bottom of this pit will preferably be provided with ballast such as connnonly employed upon railways, this ballast serving to anchor the ties 22 and permit raising and lowering of such ties as occasion may deniand.

Adjacent their abutments, the vertical posts of certain of the arches are provided with laterally extending ledges 25, said ledges and the tie members 12, 12 12, 12, and 12 serving to support longitudinal tie plates 26 whose ends are reduced in width and secured at 27 to the rails, at opposite ends of the switch, so that creeping of these rails in such a manner as to possibly impair the proper operation of the switch, will be prevented. The plates 26 are formed with suitable notches 28 through which the abutments 9, 9*, 9', 9 and 9 and the lugs 18, 13, 13*, 13 and 13 rise, said plates being secured to the tie members 12, 12, 12 12 and 12, so that possible relative shifting of the several arches is prevented. The tie plates 26 also serve to receive the wheels of a derailed car in case the latter should approach the switch, and said plates are provided with flanges 29 along their edges so that the car wheels are retained thereon and prevented from injuring the substructure of the switch and the operating means of the switch tongues 5. The ends of the outermost plates 26 are preferably beveled 0r inclined as shown at 30 in Figs. 1 and 3, so as to form no obstruction to prevent a car wheel from passing thereon.

Extending longitudinally beneath the switch tongues 5, are two sills 40, these sills being secured in the lower ends of the several recesses 10, 10, 10 and 10, the ends of said sills, however, being secured to suitable flanges or the like 41 on the end-most arches B and E. Resting on the sills at suitably spaced intervals, are cams 42 upon which the switch tongues 5 rest, the cams of one tongue being lowered when the others are raised. A. plurality of transverse shafts 43 ably mounted in bearings 44 secured to thesills 40, said bearings preferably having passages 45 which will drain any water therefrom and thus prevent the formation of ice which might otherwise prevent proper turning of the shafts.

The upper edges of the sills 40 are flat as indicated at 46, where engaged by the cams 42 when the latter are in raised or in operas tive position, but, the remainder of these edges are sharpened as indicated at 47 to prevent the accumulation of ice thereon, it being intended that any water shall drip from these edges before freezing'thereon. As a safe guard against the accumulation of ice uponthe flat portions 46, guards 48 are hinged at 49 to the cams 42, said guards having downwardly turned outer ends which slide along the sills when the cams are moved from one position to the other. When the cams 42 lie fiat upon the sills as shown in Fig. 1, guards 48 overlie the portions of the sill upon which said cams rest when they are moved into operative position. By the provision of these guards, therefore, there is no possibility whatever of snow or ice accumulating on the flat portions 46 and preventing the cams 42 from rlsingto operative position. In case any thin film of ice should form on the sills 40 while the cams are raised, lowering of these cams will chip the ment of the cams to an inoperative position will not be impaired.

Particular emphasis is laid upon the fact that the several cams 42 are supported upon the sills 40 and not upon the shafts 43, the latter serving merely as open ting means for said cams. By the provision of these sills, therefore, all strain which would otherwise be placed on the -rock shafts is prevented, this being a highly important feature of my invention. All of the rock shafts are connected for simultaneous movement by a longitudinal link'50 to which crank arms 51 ofthe shafts are pivoted, one of'said shafts, preferably the one at the center of the series, being extended laterally in a suitable trough or housing 51 and connectedat 52 to a shaft 53 which may be turned by beveled gears 54 from a vertical shaft 55 which is rotatably mounted in a suitable switch stand 56. The upper end of the shaft 55 carries a suitable lateral arm 57 to which a hand lever 58 is pivoted for movement toward and away from the shaft. \Vhen swung toward the shaft, the lever 58 is receivable in either one of a pair of notches 59 in a plate 60 which is held against movement, whereby after the shaft 55 has been turned to throw the entire switch to one position or the other, the lever 58 may be swung downwardly into the proper notch 59 so that the switch may be locked. A pad lock 61 may be provided for holding the lever 58 against movement to an unlocked position by unauthorized parties.

In order that the switch operating means may be so adjusted as to permit the tongues 5 to be raised to an exact level with the rails, it is often necessary to slightly vary the throw of the lever 58, and in order that this may be done, it is necessary to mount the plate 60 adjustably, so that the lever may properly engage the notches 59. As the preferred means of so adjusting plates 60, this plate is shown supported upon a flat circular head 62 with which the stand 56 is provided, bolts 63 being passed through said head and plate, either one or the other having slots 6% through which said bolts extend, so that when these bolts are loosened, the plate 60 may be turned to the required extent. To assist in throwing the switch, and to pre vent displacement of the switch in case its operating gears should break or unmesh, inclined arms 65 extend in opposite directions from the rock shaft as. which is connected to shaft 53, weights 66 being slidable along said arms between the shafts and stops 67 on the outer ends of the arms. After the shafts 43 have been "turned to a predetermined amount by hand, the weights 66 will slide along the arms 65 by gravity, one weight moving to the outer end of its arm while the other travels to the inner end of the other arm. The weight 66 at the outer end of the arm now tends to assist the operation, due to the action of gravity. It is to be noted that the primary function for the sliding weights 66 is to hold the switch points in their set positions and prevent them from being moved by vibration which might occur should the switch operating lever become unlocked.

I have stated that the several cams l2 are so arranged as to raise one tongue 5 when the other is lowered, and since the force of gravity might not be sufficient in some cases to quickly lower the one tongue while the other is being raised, links 68 (Fig. 2) are preferably pivoted to certain of said cams at one end, whereas the other ends of said links are formed with loops 69 which register with slots 70 in the tongues 5, pins or bolts 71 being passed through said loops and slots as shown. By this arrangement, lowering of the cams will positively lower the tongues so that the possibility of either tongue remaining in a raised position when it should be lowered, is prevented.

In most cases a removable cover 75 will be used between the inner tie plates 26 to exclude snow, sand, and the like. It is important to prevent water and dust from entering the pit, but it is to be observed that the posts 8, 8, 8", 8 and 8 all extend an appreciable distance below the switch opcrating means and thus a large quantity of such foreign matter may collect in the pit without interfering with the operation of the switch. In short, I have provided a switch which cannot be blocked from the usual causes and it is not therefore necessary to employ laborers for the express purposeof keeping the switches open as is now done. Whenever advisable, however, the cover 7 5 may be removed so that accumulated sand, dust, ice and the like may be removed.

Another feature shown, is the provision of one or more links 5 for preventing longitudinal shifting of the tongues 5 when their cams are operated. It is thus insured that binding of these tongues shall not occur.

In operation, the hand lever 58 is released and swung outwardly from the notch 59 in which it has been secured, movement of this lever in the proper direction now serving to turn shaft which in turn rotates shaft 53, the latter now serving to rock the series of Shafts 43 so that one series of cams L2 is raised and the other lowered. This simultaneously raises one switch tongue and lowers the other so that the train will be di rected eithe onto the siding or along the main track. During this operation, the weights 66 and arms 65 assist in the manner above set forth and the guards 48 are moved along the sills 40, these guards preventing accumulations of dust and ice upon the sills when the cams are lowered, which might otherwise interfere with proper raising of said cams.

From the foregoing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be obvious that although I have provided a comparatively simple and inexpensive switch, it will be highly eflicient and durable. Since probably the best results are obtained from the features of construction shown and described,these features are preferably employed, but I wish it understood that within the scope of the invention as claimed, numerous minor changes may well be made. I also intend that the term tongue in the appended claims shall be given a sufficiently broad interpretation to include the bridging blocks of my copending application Serial No. 199,532, filed on even date therewith.

I claim:

1. In combination with a railway, a rail tongue movable vertically, vertical supports below the rails, a sill secured to said supports and extending longitudinally beneath said tongue, a cam resting rockably on said sill and supporting said tongue, and means for rocking said cam to operate said tongue.

2. In a railway switch, the combination of two parallel series of posts whose upper ends support the rails, said posts having vertical guideways, a pair of vertically movable switch tongues mounted in said guideways,

means for raising and lowering said tongues, and tie members extending between the two series of posts. i v

3. In a railway switch, the combination of two parallel series of posts whose upper ends support the rails,-said posts having "vertical guideways, a pair of vertically movable switch tongues mounted in said guideways, a palr of longitudinal SlllS received in the lower ends of said guideways and secured tongues and means for operating said cams,

a pair of sills extendinglongitudinally beneath said tongues andpositioned in the bottoms of said recesses, said sills supporting said cams,and arched 'tie members between said series of posts, the legs of said members being secured to said posts and closing the inner sides of saidfrecesses to guide the tongues in the latter.

5. In combination, a rail tongue movable vertically, a rigidly supported sill extending longitudinally beneath said tongue, a cam supporting said tongue and resting on said sill when in operative position, and a guard on said cam overlying a portion of the sill when said cam is in inoperative position to prevent accumulation of any foreign matter on the portion of said sill upon which said cam rests when operative.

6. A structure as specified in claim 5, said guard being pivoted to said cam and having a downwardly turned outer end which slides along said sill when said cam is shifted from one position to the other. 7

7. In combination, a rail tongue movable vertically, a rocking cam for actuating said tongue, means for turning said cam to opera tive and inoperative positions, and a sill upon which said cam rests in either position, the portion of the sill which supports the cam when inoperative, having its upper edge sharpened.

8. A structure as specified in claim 7, to gether with a guard carried by said cam to overlie the sill when said cam is in inoperative position to prevent accumulation of foreign matter on the portion of said sil which supports said cam when operative.

9. In a railway switch the combination of two series of posts whose upper ends support the line and switch rails, switch tongues coacting with said rails, longitudinal tie plates on opposite sides of said rails over the base flanges thereof and extending to oints beyond said tongues, means for securing the ends of said tie plates to the vertical webs of said rails and means for securing said plates to theupper-ends of said posts.

10. In a railway switch, the combination of two series of posts whoseupper ends sup port "the rails, said posts having vertical guideways, a pair of vertically movable switch tongues received in said guideways, means for raising and lowering said tongues,

tie members extending between said posts near their upper ends, ledges formed on the outer side of certain of said 'posts'neartheir upper ends, and longitudinal tie platesextending along the outer and inner sides of the rails, saidplates being secured to said tie members'and ledges and havin'g openings in which the upper ends of the posts are received.

11. In a railway switch, the combination of switch tongues, means for operating said tongues including a horizontal rock shaft and means for turning it, oppositely extending inclined arms on said shaft, and weights slidabjle freely along-said arms.

12. In a railway switch, the'c ombination ofswitch tongues, means for operating said.

tongues including a horizontal rock shaft and means for turning it, inclined arms carried by said shaft and extending in opposite directions, stops on the outer ends of said arms, and weights slidablefreely on said 7 arms between said shaft and said stops '13. In. combination, a: vertically movable tongue, a rockmg cam for raising sald tongue, means for rocking saidcam, and a' flexible connectlon between sald cam and said tongue for pulling the latter downwardly when said cam is lowered.

14. A structure as specified in claim 13, said connection comprising a link pivoted to said cam and having a loop, said tongue having a slot with which said loop registers, and a pin passing loosely through said loop and slot.

15. In a railway switch, the combination of a pair of vertically movable switch tongues, sills extending longitudinally beneath said tongues, cams upon which said tongues rest, transverse rock shafts upon which said cams are mounted, bearings for said shafts I secured to sald sills and means for rock ingsaid shafts simultaneously.

16. In a railway switch, the combination of a pair of vertically movable switch tongues, sills extending longitudinally beneath said tongues, cams upon which said tongues rest, transverse rock shafts upon which said cams are mounted, bearings for said shafts secured to said sills, means for rocking one shaft by hand, means for transmitting motion from said one shaft to the others, inclined arms extending in opposite directions from said one shaft and weights slidable freely along said arms.

ing into said recesses,,and keys in said key-s ways passing through said loops to hold the rail tightly against the abutments.

18. In a railway switch, the combination of a line rail, a switch tongue movable vertically and contacting with one side of said rail, fixed abutments against which the other side of said rail bears, rigid loops extending outwardly from said rail, and keysdriven through said loops and engaging said abutments to hold the rail in tight contact with said abutments.

19. In a railway switch, the combination of a pair of vertically movable switch tongues, means for raising and lowering said tongues, and a plurality of vertical tie supported posts beneath the rails for supporting the latter and said raising and lowering means, said posts being adapted to be positioned in a pit and extending below said raising and lowering means, whereby foreign matter may accumulate in the bottom of said pit without obstructing the operation of the switch.

20. In a railway switch, the combination of two series of posts whose upper ends support the rails, the inner sides of said posts having vertical recesses, a pair of vertically movable switch tongues received slidably in said recesses, means for moving said tongues vertically, and arched tiemembers between said series of posts, the legs of said tie members being secured to said posts and closing the inner sides of said recesses to guide said tongues in the latter.

21. Switch operating means comprising a vertical rock shaft, a hand lever pivoted to said shaft for movement toward and away therefrom, a stand in which said shaft is mounted, said stand having a flat head on its upper end, a flat plate resting on said head and having an opening through which said shaft passes, the edge of said plate hav ing notches in whieh said lever is receivable when the switch is respectively opened and closed, and means for securing said plate to said head and permitting adjustment of the former around said shaft.

22. The combination with a railway having vertically movable longitudinal tongues, and cams mounted on transverse axes for raising said tongues; of links pivoted at one end to said tongues and pivoted at their other ends to fixed means.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of a subscribing witness.

JOHN ALONZO.

Witness:

7 W. R. BAU'MI.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

